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pleura
pleura
The Oxford Companion to the Body
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2001
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© The Oxford Companion to the Body 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information)
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pleura A thin membrane which lines the inside of the chest cavity and also covers the
lungs. The two ‘pleural cavities’ are enclosed compartments, with normally only a film of fluid between the layer lining the chest (
parietal pleura) and the layer covering the lungs (
visceral pleura). The two layers continually tend to pull away from each other, because of the stretched elastic condition of the lungs — an important factor in the mechanics of
breathing. If the chest wall is penetrated by a wound, air is readily sucked into the pleural cavity, separating the two pleural layers and collapsing the lung.
Stuart Judge
See
breathing;
lungs.
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pleura
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
pleura , membranous lining of the upper body cavity and covering for the lungs . The pleura is a two-layered structure: the parietal pleura lines the walls of the chest cage and covers the upper surface of the diaphragm, and the pulmonary pleura...
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Pleural Effusion
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
...cells that make up the pleurae. Pleural fluid is continuously...samples ( biopsy ) of pleura may be taken. Pleural...increases the pressure at the pleurae which causes fluid accumulation...visceral and parietal pleurae to stick together. Chemical...removal of the parietal pleura through an ...
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Pleural Biopsy
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Pleural biopsy Definition The pleura is the membrane that lines the lungs and...called collagen vascular disease of the pleura. It is also ordered when a chest x ray...tumor, reaction, or thickening of the pleura. Precautions Because pleural biopsy...
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Pleurodesis
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
...space is the region between the outer surface of each lung (visceral pleurae) and the membrane that surrounds each lung (parietal pleurae). Under normal conditions, the pleurae are kept wet with pleural fluid to allow movement of the lungs within...
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Thoracentesis
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed.
...with two thin layers of tissue called pleura. The space between these two layers is...pleural space. Tuberculosis can infect the pleura as well as the lungs and cause them to...many types settle in the lungs or the pleura and leak liquids from their surface...
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